It’s easy to make jokes about Texas and Formula 1. Even the local press in Austin have been having some fun with the story. At the end of last month John Kelso, a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman, drove to Elroy, the largely uninhabited little burg 15 miles southeast of downtown Austin where Tavo Hellmund plans to build his F1 track.
Kelso reported that Elroy consists of a convenience store, a service station selling used tyres, a general store fronted by hay bales, a small library run by volunteers and ‘Bubba’s Wild Game Grill’, a restaurant specialising in fried coyote tail. Unsurprisingly, nobody in Elroy knows anything about Formula 1. “You couldn’t find a more unlikely place on the planet for an F1 crowd if you tried,” Kelso observed.
The owner of Elroy’s convenience store showed Kelso his selection of baseball caps and bumper stickers. ‘Where the hell is Elroy, Texas?’ asks one of his best-selling bumper stickers.
And maybe that’s the point. The land is cheap and there aren’t too many people in Elroy. There’s unlikely to be any political opposition to the project as there would be in spades anywhere near New York City or Los Angeles, or most any other place in America where Formula 1 fashions itself visiting.
Elroy is also located barely six or seven miles from Austin’s Bergstrom International Airport, and Austin – despite provincial European jibes – is a very urbane city. It’s Texas’s state capitol and is also a college town with a thriving arts and music community. The city is known as the USA’s live music capital and ‘Austin City Limits’ is the longest-running live music show on American television.
Austin is a little less than 200 miles south of Dallas and 75 miles northeast of San Antonio. Houston is about 150 miles to the east so there are many millions of people within a 200-mile radius of Austin. For Texans these are easy, quick drives or short-hop flights, so if Hellmund is actually able to build his US$200 million facility and stage the United States Grand Prix in 2012 he will have a tremendous pool of well-heeled Texans to draw from.
So again, it’s easy to poke fun at F1 in Texas, but there’s every chance that Tavo Hellmund will get the last laugh. If he makes it happen and F1 were to fall in love with Austin and start singing the city’s praises, the race will serve the city and state proud in portraying a new image of Texas to the world. And Elroy’s convenience store will be sure to sell out its supply of ‘Where the hell’s Elroy, Texas?’ bumper stickers.
Mr. Kirby,
You must have had a little Peyote tea at Elroy’s convenience store. Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis are all easy drives to Indianapolis and it didn’t matter one iota.
In general we (Americans) don’t get F1. It’s F1′s fault no one here cares about F1, they’ve done NOTHING to promote themselves here. I’m a 45+ year fan but that is not the norm.
I wish Tavo and Red all the best and hope they spend their money like there’s no tomorrow but it will not be enough.
Even if Bernie started now promoting F1 in Austin, no one is going to pay the ticket prices Tavo and Red will need to charge to make the finances work.
This is one of the most illogical projects I have ever seen.
Las Vegas or back to Indy, those are the only 2 logical choices. Bernie is going to make money on this pipe dream but no one else will and many will lose a fortune.
I hate to be a pessimist but those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Dare I say if NASCAR can’t put butts in the seats at $40.00 to 75.00 a head how in the hell do Bernie, Tavo and Red think they can attract 200,000 at the inflated prices they will need to charge to pay for the track and keep B.E. happy.
Not to mention that a June date is likely. No thanks, not Texas in June, unless it’s a night race. If that happens I can’t wait to see the parking for the race. You’ll need a 4×4 with roof mounted Cibie Oscar driving lamps to even find the place. Should be quite a scene.
The whole idea is crazy and apparently you have fallen victim to Bernie’s wishful thinking or maybe it’s just the tea!
BG Smith
I unlike my American counter part Bob never missed one race at Indy and am a huge American F1 fan. I will agree American’s do not like the fact that F1 is very non fan friendly. In fact they seem to go out of thier way to alienate themselves from fans. However, I still love the spectacle and I will be flying down to Texas evey year once/if this thing is up and running.
Bob – Austin in June isn’t that bad, and that’s coming from someone who used to live in Montana (although, admittidedly, my first couple of acclimating summers here was a bit unpleasant).
I expect F1 in Austin to be a success. Austin is an eclectic and world class city that takes pride in its accomplishments and knows how to do things well. We even have a hockey team!?!
And as Gordon points out, its central location enables it to tap into the state’s other urban population concentrations. DFW, Houston, San Antonio – they’re already coming here for premium music festivals (SXSW, ACL Fest). They’ll come for F1, too.
5 years from now we’ll be reading stories about Austin and the revitalization of F1 in the U.S.
Been following F1 since the mid 60′s from here in the states. Would love to see a USGP. But – F1 must market itself to the American sports fan. There are too many competing interests for the U.S. consumer’s entertainment $. If ya wanna make money ya gotta spend money. In recent times, Bernie and CVC have plucked the low-lying fruit, the “easy-money” (countries shelling out big bucks for some pr etc). If Ferrari want to accelerate their sales & McLaren (their new roadcar) want to break into the lucrative, luxury, high-end U.S. car market they had better pony-up the $$$! Now, just a little re: Austin & Texas. 1. The weather – My favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, just played 3 games vs the Texas Rangers in Arlington Tx (13 – 15 Aug) The game-time temps were, at 7pm 102 F, 7pm 103 F and 1:30pm was 106 F. The following is a quote from a Texas Rangers sports reporter about a Rangers pitcher: “Tommy Hunter, who seemed perfectly healthy before the game, vomited between innings, I’m told. Presumably between the second and third. Not sure if it’s a stomach virus or if it was heat-related.” 2. Austin as the USA’S live music capital, will be a “FLASH: NEWS-BULLETIN”, that just washed -in over the transom, to the vast majority of Americans. As far as the TV show goes – it’s been on our public tv station and nobody but elitists of the left (the environmentalists e.g.) who hate motor sports and want everyone to use public transportation watch it. (Few people watch PBS, for that matter). Not exactly a fan-friendly group to F1. I think you get the picture. They would, I grant you, probably enjoy Lohan, Campbell and their ilk. & I’ll close, apologies for the length, with the University of Texas. Austin would be another Albany, NY without it. And a college-town consumer, anyways is transient by nature and not the best for long-term investment. But let’s cross our fingers. Hey, it ain’t my $.
No on’es mentioned South by Southwest (SxSw)? That’s one of the biggest events in Austin bringing quite a few people to the town lately. But I think it happens in March or April…
As a native Texan who spent his business career in northern California (now,San Francisco would be THE backdrop for a Grand Prix)I was skeptical about F1 happening in Austin, but have followed developments on the Austin American Statesman website and the process is moving along. I think people will be pleasantly surprised by Austin’s attractivness, foodscene,nightlife,etc. The town has grown dramatically in the last twenty years with a young and educated population. It is warm in early June, but not like August.
Austin has a cooler climate than Dallas, but that’s relative this time of year- 35C vs. 40C. The answer to that problem is obviously to have the race in the Spring or the Fall…Bernie doesn’t take seasons into account (see Malaysia).
The music folks listen to in Austin is anything but “elitist”. We’re talking ZZ Top, the ultimate motorhead band, and last I heard, American college students are generally car crazy. So, the atmosphere seems right.
MR is spot on re the money side of things. Promote, promote, promote, and then promote some more. And get the prices right. Then, they might have half a chance…
One of the reasons I’ve already expressed sceptism about this idea on this website is that I’ve visited Austin.
There may be many high net worth individuals in Texas, but they didn’t become wealthy by giving away money or being slow on the uptake. Are the backers really going to want to ‘invest’ in a GP if there’s no return for them? Where are the bangs for their buck?
While one of my ex-colleagues there may have had a diecast likeness of his ’59 Vette in his office, and another had a Porsche, the main man drove an F150.
The reasons why Austin may be a great city are also true of many other places where you could build a circuit from scratch. You could schedule the GP to coincide with South by South West, but South by South West isn’t the only annual music festival in the world is it?
Is there a latent interest in motor sport there? Wandering around Austin of an evening a chap manning a car park lot picked up on the British accents and wanted to talk football. He was an African and just wanted to talk about football. Given the demographic of Austin there’s more interest in what the British call football than motor sport? Given I went to an Ice Bats Ice Hockey game there perhaps there is an interest in F1 in Austin.
If America hasn’t taken to F1 to date why are they suddenly going to get it now? A new circuit in Texas means they’ll suddenly get F1? It’ll be another Turkish GP?
‘The new track in Austin will also be used to test alternative fuel vehicles’? How many other tracks, airfields or dried up lake beds elsewhere in the US could be used for that? There’s a shortage of venues to conduct vehicle tests or stage GPs?
There’s nothing wrong with the circuit at Indianapolis is there? The circuit isn’t the issue is it?
Regardless of the armed criminal gangs that seem to control parts of Mexico, wouldn’t it be better to stage GPs there? There’s a circuit that already stages other races and music concerts that tie in with Bernie’s ‘F1 Rocks’ idea. Would the security considerations involved in returning to Mexico City be any worse than those needed to get to Interlagos? Other racing series get there OK? Don’t manufacturers of the sort of cars that only the seriously wealthy can afford demonstrate and test their ‘products’ there?
Would VW be keen to be seen at Mexico City if they enter F1?
The joke isn’t about Texas, it’s about the viability of this idea. Hellmund should have taken a leaf from the book of Robert McCulloch and shipped the ruined Donington circuit to Texas?
If Bernie Ecclestone had known Simon Gillett all of his life would it have changed what happened to Donington?
What way is the economy heading?
If someone can show me the sums, and explain to me why this idea makes sense I may reconsider my view.
To James: 1. So they chose not to answer the weather “question” and instead raised another obstacle (the weather).
2. I did a poor job of explaining myself re: “Austin City Limits”. Correct, ZZ Top is not elitist. However, PBS IS! And the Demo’s for PBS and by extension “Austin City Limits” is 50 thru 70 ish baby-boomers/elitists who are NOT interested in MOTOR SPORT! Few and far between are the viewers of “Austin City Limits” who have ever changed their own car’s oil. Or even have a clue as to how to do it! And when a gearhead wants a fix of ZZ TOP, Zep, etc, we do not imi not seek it out on “Austin City Limits”/PBS!
3. I don’t know where/what you proclaim to have heard re: American college kids. I’ve a son in college presently and I can tell you first-hand that virtually nobody at American colleges, and I mean virtually NOBODY watches/attends motor sport events.
So the atmosphere is ALL WRONG!
F1 has painted itself into a corner re: the USA. They play the elitist card, but our elites hate motor sport. There is a rabid and sizeable fan-base for motor sport here in the U.S. but the very nature (snobbish, cliquish) of F1 precludes F1 from reaching out to this market. Hence we have Bernie with his dog and pony show trying to carnival-bark people who’s DNA has never allowed them to “cotton to” motorized sport of any kind. With the likes of Lohan/Campbell?
Are you kiddin’ me?!
F1 is, and always has been, tone-deaf to the American market.
Again, I want it to work but this dog won’t hunt!
With all considerations about the economy, location, temperatures, climate already made, I’d like to add my two cents.
Americans don’t know enough about F1 as form of motorsport. We’ll never see a NASCAR fan paying up the ticket price of a F1 GP to see a car race. They like to see a “show” even if that means 43 cars, under three different brands but exactly the same under the skin. They also have almost complete access to track sites, garage areas and drivers whom they almost worship. They have nicknames given by the fans who drive their own cars with NASCAR stickets and numbers all over them.
F1 is closed to the public everywhere except the bathrooms, food stands and of course the grand stands. The F1 drivers act and think like prima donas that want no contact with the fans. Schumacher was quoted saying that he loves to come to the US because no one recognizes him.
The cable channel which broadcasts F1 in the US, Speed Channel, is also known as the NASCAR channel. About 70% of what they show is NASCAR genrated / relatyed / aimed. DTM, Aussie V8 usually runs after midnight and just before the infomercials. The F1 programs go on the air after mindnight on the weekends, just before they re-run the practice or qualifying sessions. Four races / year must be on a prime channel. Speed Channel is part of the FOX network and their mainstream channel shows the four races on tape delay, right after they finish either with religious programs of infomercials.
CART had very fans / race attendance/ followers until Tony George aka “The Genius” whjo neverheld a real job in his life started the IRL. Open wheel has been on decline ever since the spli. Crappy cars, crappy venues and some real crappy drivers have taken the series to the dumpster.
F1 is the most expensice circus in the world. I guess you can make the case that the public in general cannot get an autograph from their favorite drivers, cannot see the cars from up close, the TV coverage during the season is limited to the race weekends.
Americans don’t get F1, much in the same way they don’t get football (soccer). It’s a cultural thing, regardless of economy, location, temperature, climate or whatever else you want to throw at it.
Try to explain what FOCA / F1 / FIA are always at odds with one another. The average American wants to see a good show.
Try convincing an American auto racing fan that procession of 22 / 24 cars that are unable to pass and, rely on pit srategy to get ahead , isgood racing.
II have been following F1 since Clark. Stewart, Rindt, Hulme, Gurney were some of the great names. I’ve become so fed up with F1, the Ecclestones / Mosleys of life that I’ll take an ALMS race any day over a F1 GP.
There is no reason to pay $150.00 for a ticket to hear over the public annoncement system that Schumacher went tot the bathroom or Alonso passed gas while in the cockpit.
I’ll record on my TIVO and watch when I have nothing better to do.
Joe Machado
We might be too skeptical & pessimistic. If I recall, the 1st Indy F1 race was a huge crowd by F1 standards. Most of them were well-attended (of course the silly tire fiasco ruined everything). I have been to Montreal for the Canadian GP many times, and many American F1 fans make the trip (no, I’m not equating Austin to Montreal). However, Austin is a fine city, probably the nicest in Texas. There is a possibility this could work. Why not support the effort and wish it the best of luck?
I have to agree with MR on the college issue.
I’m 21, and though I’m Brazilian, I go to college in America. Boston to be exact. While there are some people who like motor sport, they are few and far between. But that doesn’t matter though, if the event were priced correctly, it would just be another excuse to party. And then college kids WOULD attend in larger numbers.
The track in Austin makes a lot of sense. There is a market for F1 in the US, you only have to look at the numbers that attended Long Beach, Watkins Glen, Detroit, Indy and Dallas over the years. Austin is well located, rolling hills make for great circuits even if they are designed by Tilke, the Texas major event fund of $25M per year will cover the F1 expenses and the $200M they have to finance the track makes sense.
Austin will not have restricted use like some tracks because of noise and crowds. It has good road access and is fairly close to the Mexican border.
Basically we have the chance of having a circuit that will become a classic, it will attract MotoGP, F1, American Le Mans Series and maybe the IRL. A circuit built to Bernies standards in rolling hills could be the best thing we could have for American motorsports.
Count me among the hopeful on this one.
Once Mr. Hellmund’s long connection to Bernie was revealed, my initial skepticism dwindled, a bit.
Texas is a unique situation, virtually a country in the guise of a state. Constitutionally, it even has rights to succeed.
Austin is state capital, and somewhat neutral ground in the big town rivalry between Houston and Dallas.
There is large money in Texas, and it comes to rise in patriotic causes.
Re-amplifiying US profile in a modern, high tech event of international import, may be seen as just that. The coffers may open.
Previous contributors warnings about appealing to the large cross section must be heeded.
Current NASCAR races all over have many empty chairs, and that is motor racing to most Americans.
American firms don’t even hire their own citizens anymore, nor maintain production there. Blue collar lately means a “metaphorical Mao suit”.
Man in the street income has been decimated, by globalization.
Long Beach worked, but couldn’t afford Bernie, the ‘Glen became outdated. Indy became a decent venue, but saw choreographed finishes, and insulting fiasco.
American’s don’t buy F1? Well, not unconditionally, with a slap in the face included.
Great nation you know, do have great uptake on all points and subtleties upon illumination.
Austin, given a good circuit, a welcome to community partnership and a fair shake to prospective attendees, could be pretty good.
I don’t think we can blame them if it doesn’t take.
Little bernie ecclestone has done more to damage motor racing than was even imaginable before his remarkable egomania and sociopathic greed blossomed into rotten fruition. I wish the Texas promoters the best of luck at the Formula One casino poker table, but all of the decks are heavily stacked, by design, in little bernie’s favor.
For the record a few things I should add to my #1 post.
I’m a native Texan, born in Houston and raised in Dallas. I love Texas but now I live in Arkansas.
I attended all but 2 of the Indy F1 events. I absolutely love the facility. The history that washes over you just driving up is indescribable. Indy is where the USGP should be held in my opinion.
I watched Tavo on Wind Tunnel Sunday night. I think this guy is the real deal but it still doesn’t make me think this is a financially viable project.
One of my best friends lives in Austin. I have a place to stay and I can drive there in 1 day. Selfishly I’d like to see it all come together and after watching the interview with Tavo I think it will.
It will take a lot of foreign visitors to fill the seats. Americans aren’t use to F1 ticket prices. Just look at what a good seat at the Canadian GP will cost you. It’s ridiculous.
I’ll say it again, if the race is in June then the track needs to hire Musco to do the lighting and let’s have a night race. That would certainly elevate the interest level.
I really enjoy the varying view points and hope we can all rub elbows in June 2012 at the USGP.
Best regards,
Bob
Thanks Bob,
I won’t be joining you at Austin in 2012. I’ve been to Austin before and as much as I liked it and the people there I think I’d rather go somewhere I’ve not been before.
I don’t doubt Texans or their abilities and I am therefore confident they’ll realise that there’s no money to be made staging F1 races sooner rather than later.
Indy, Montreal and Melbourne have all had money issues regarding their established GPs, with debts being waived or cleared by provinical or state governments. Have any of the new GPs made any money? Will they ever make any money?
Perhaps Austin can see the money made by the inlux of people for South by South West and think that F1 will create a similar amount of interest and income for the city? ‘You have to speculate to accumulate’? It’ll be an annual 4 hour long TV commercial for Austin and Texas broadcast globally?
The comments made by Susan Combs, the Texas State Controller haven’t convinced me either. She mentioned the passion for F1 that was evident at Silverstone. Well the UK is the home of F1, and we’ve been staging GPs there on and off for half a century. Perhaps my idea of shipping Donington to Texas wasn’t that mad after all? Perhaps the last two last champions being British had something to do with the atmosphere at Silverstone?
Susan Combs was impressed by the technology? There’s an Austin based Co. that develops and makes products used by the leading F1 teams, if not all of them, when creating their cars.
I’ve had a look around the web and found a blog by a Motor Sport magazine contributor. There were some opinions doubting the credibility of this bid to stage a GP with comentators pointing out that such rumours would appease the F1 teams and their sponsors that are demanding a presence in the US. This bid may also conveniently serve as a bargaining chip when negotiating with other circuits, rather like Donington was used as a cudgel on the BRDC and Silverstone.
Will cheap tickets for students keep CVC happy? Will reduced tickets for students be a loss leader worth paying to stoke an interest and following in the US for the next half a century?
I don’t understand the so called F1 fans that are professing doom and gloom, and seem to be hoping the race fails.
Dallas, Houston, S.A. and Austin alone will bring 100,000 people. There’s a much larger F1 fan base in
Texas than people realize.
It’s a good location and a cool city. Lighten up!
I hate Bernie as much as the next guy, but let’s give it a chance. Keep hope alive.
There seems to be a bit of an anti-Bernie herd mentality out there. What is so bad about Bernie? I reckon that F1 is far better off for having Bernie around for all these years than it would have been without him.
If the state of Texas sees positive ROI in investing $25m special event money in the F1 race – this race could be here a long time. The only reason F1 is not at Indy today is the event fee assessed by Bernie. Local government did discuss assistance but that was dismissed out of hand by IMS. Big mistake.
If Texas sees a positive ROI?
There have been money wrangles and Melbourne, Montreal and Indy, all well established, well attended GPs. Is there a link between attendance and economic viability?
Have any of those new GPs seen an ROI?
I like Austin, I wish it all the best but if the numbers don’t add up…..
The ROI can be whatever you wish it to be. It just depends on what assumptions and projections are used. The value will never be known in precise terms because a lot of it is in advertising the city and branding the city for the future economic benefits that may arise. It’s a punt. That is why cities such as New York or Sydney don’t see any value, but Adelaide, Melbourne and Austin etc etc do. They are trying to raise their profile.
John Read: Interesting comments.
Do you think the AGP in Melbourne is doomed.
If so, tell me [1] which alternative city ought to take it on, or [2] will the date be taken up offshore?
Wow. So few here get it. The reason that F1 fails in the USA is that the numbers do not pencil from the perspective of the promotor and/or venue (sometimes one and the same, e.g. Indy, not always, e.g. Long Beach). Case closed, end of story. The Austin GP may materialize for a few years, but it will ultimately fail for the same reason as Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Detroit, Las Vegas and Indianapolis.
The equity investors in Austin will get destroyed and the bondholders, d.b.a. taxpayers, will get a severe shearing. A few hundred thousand fans will enjoy themselves, and Bernie will do well, of that there is no question.
Very interesting comments from all. I personally believe that to get F1 to succeed in the U.S. requires proper advertising. Americans relate, unfortunately, to celebrity superstars, not F1 drivers. I think the promoters should use that to their advantage by getting the likes of Patrick Dempsey, the Kardashians, Lady Gaga, etc. on board to promote the event. Dempsey is almost a given considering his racing involvement. Bernie is all about the money and is always surrounded by celebrities whenever possible. Play his game and people will turn out. It pains me to say this as a F1 fan dating back to the 60′s, but we have to face reality. Go with the flow, dumb as it may be. After all, isn’t the important thing that we get and keep F1 in America?